My Night at Maud’s (Ma nuit chez Maud)
Directed by Eric Rohmer
Written by Eric Rohmer
1969/France
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Maud: You’re the most outrageous person I’ve met. Religion has always left me cold. I’m neither for nor against it. But people like you prevent me from taking it seriously. All that really concerns you is your respectability. Staying in a woman’s room after midnight is dreadful. It would never occur to you to stay because I’m lonely. To establish a slightly less conventional relationship even if we should never meet again. This I find stupid – very stupid and not very Christian.[/box]
Perfect fare if you feel like thinking deep thoughts or exploring the human condition during Lockdown.
Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is a thirty-something engineer with a penchant for philosophy and mathematics. He has just moved to a new town. He’s a practicing Catholic and becomes smitten with a beautiful blonde, Christine, who he sees every Sunday at mass. It takes him awhile to build up to introducing himself.
One night, he meets an old friend, Vidal, who invites him to come with him to see his ex-girlfriend Maud (Francoise Fabian). Jean-Louis agrees. Maud is a free-thinking, sensual, agnostic divorcee. Vidal, a Marxist, and Jean-Louis, a Christian, get involved in a long talk about Pascal’s Wager. Pascal’s wager is a decision whether to “bet” on the existence of God and believe and live as if God exists or to “bet” that God does not exist and live accordingly. Pascal argues that all rational people should bet that God exists, even if the odds are slim, because the rewards and risks are infinite (eternity in Heaven vs. eternity in Hell). The belief that God does not exist carries only finite benefits and inconveniences. Maud seems to be highly amused by the conversation. Eventually, Vidal leaves and Maud invites Jean-Louis to spend the night. It is a very awkward and chaste evening.
Immediately after this encounter, Jean-Louis tracks down Christine and introduces himself. He finds she is not the innocent virgin he thought but that does not stand in the way of their courtship. Maud moves away.
Years pass. Jean-Louis and Christine are now married with a small child. They go to the beach and run into Vidal and Maud. It is an awkward encounter but all the participants respond to it with grace.
Someday I will figure out how Pascal’s wager informs the plot of this film. There’s a lot of decision making going on here and I just know Pascal gets involved somehow. This is not the day for that. I love this movie for its thought-provoking story, beautiful actors, beautiful France, and beautiful ideas. Highly recommended.
